Dark Nights Metal: The Knightmare Batmen
by Darthfenrir1994
Summary: These are the stories from the Dark Multiverse that should never be... Witness the rise of the Dark Knights! The Knightmare Batmen! These are stories based on the Nightmare Batmen of Dark Nights Metal.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

These are the stories from the Dark Multiverse that should never be…

Witness the rise of the Dark Knights…

Location: Earth -27

Kent Nelson, otherwise known as the hero Doctor Fate, stood in the Tower of Fate overlooking the universe. Sitting on the Nexus of Subtle Realms, Fate was able to watch galaxies swirl in and out of existence before his eyes, he and his ancient tower floating in the vastness of the cosmos like a lone sentry. To most the view before him would be beautiful, a kaleidoscope of colors whirling before him in a cycle of death and rebirth, with stars and galaxies blinking in and out of existence. But Fate saw evidence of the contrary. Something dark was on the approach, a sinister force that was slowly making itself known. And what truly frightened Doctor Fate was the fact that he could gleam nothing of this mysterious force. He had tried every spell and incantation he knew, making use of ancient and powerful artifacts that had long laid dormant. Even the all seeing Orb of Nabu was unable to tell him what was happening. Fate was glad that his helmet covered his entire face, because his eyes would have betrayed to anyone who looked at him just how truly afraid he was. A voice echoed throughout the tower eventually breaking Doctor Fate from his trance like state. "Fate, Fate! Let me in." Fate spread his arms and chanted a brief incantation, manipulating the mystical forces at his command, creating giant glowing Ankh that appeared in the air in front him. A dark figure strode through the portal Fate created and stepped into the Tower.

Batman stood there for a moment and regarded Doctor Fate as the portal silently closed itself behind him. "You've felt it haven't you Fate?" Batman said sternly as he turned to look out the window to view the cosmos outside the tower. "Sea levels rising, massive earthquakes devastating cities, the signs are all there Fate." Batman said as he turned to look at his friend, his eyes dark and solemn. "The world is ending." "Whatever this is Batman this is something beyond any of us. Its something like nothing we've seen before, nothing i've done has given me any insight as to the cause of all this. I-I'm not sure there is anything we can do to stop this." Doctor Fate said. Batman's face grew stern as he look at Doctor Fate. "I refuse to accept that Fate." If Doctor Fate could move his helmet he would have raised his eyebrows in surprise saying, "You sound like you have a plan Batman." Batman was quiet for a moment, just standing there looking at Fate. He stuck out his hand and said "I do but for it to work I need the Helmet of Fate." Fate took a step back, dumbfounded by the statement Batman had just made. "You can't be serious. Even if I could give you the Helmet of Fate its power would be too much for you!" Anger grew on Batman's face, his voice rising with ever word as he said "And with all your power you stand here and do nothing! Earth is falling apart, maybe even our universe, and here you stand here idly in your tower!" Batman once more thrust his hand out to Fate, "I don't want to fight you Fate, but I'm not going to ask again. Give me the helmet." Doctor Fate gathered his power and floated up and away from Batman saying, "I'm sorry Batman. I can't allow you to have the Helmet of Fate." Batman looks down at the floor before quietly saying, "I didn't want to hurt you Fate."

Suddenly, Batman leaps to the side throwing a barrage of batarangs at Doctor Fate. Fate easily swats away the batarangs, creating shields of energy from his hands. Batman launches another volley of batarangs at Fate along with two larger ones. Fate floats off to the side avoiding many of the batarangs and blocking the few he wasn't able to avoid. Fate cries out in pain as one of the larger batarangs clips onto Doctor Fate's shoulder and wrapping around his arms while the other wraps itself around his legs. Fate cries out in pain once more as electricity courses though his body, falling to the floor unconscious. Batman walks over to his former ally and pulls the golden helmet from his head, revealing the older man's face and white hair. "His face is heavy with the lines of age but he doesn't look unhealthy, perhaps is an effect of the helmet." Batman mused to himself as he walks slightly away, admiring the helmet. Kent's eyes open and lock onto Batman as he struggles against the binds and chants an incantation to escape, but to no avail. "It's no use Fate. Not only are your bonds electrified, but they have runes of the Lords of Chaos carved into them. Any spells you try to cast are going to be rendered impotent." Batman said with a slight look over his shoulder as he held the Helmet of Fate. Kent Nelson grits his teeth again trying to break free, "The Helmet won't allow you to use its powers Batman, it has a will of its own." he said as he continued to struggle on the floor. Batman turns back to face Kents grimly saying, "It's never met a will like mine."

Batman lifts the helmet over his head and meets… resistance? It feels like trying to force together two magnets, Batman struggles to bring the Helmet of Fate over his head and the feeling of resistance grows even more. He strains to bring the helmet down onto his head, his arms visibly shaking from the strain. Kent looks up at the struggling Batman and sees the look of determination on his face. Never before had he seen someone resist a magical force like this, let alone someone like Batman who never used magic before himself. Suddenly a booming voice fills the room, emanating from the helmet itself. "Foolish mortal! You think to bend the power of the Lords of Order for your own gain! Kent recognized the voice as Nabu himself, one of the almost god like Lords of Order, the source of his magical abilities as Doctor Fate. Batman's entire body was shaking from the effort of fighting the spirit of Nabu as he bought the Helmet of Fate slowly closer and closer his head. "I am vengeance." Batman said through gritted teeth, every word he spoke grew in volume and power. "I am the night! I AM!," Suddenly Batman brought the helmet down onto his head and a great flash of light illuminated the room, blinding Kent Nelson. Once he opened his eyes again he saw Batman standing before him wearing the Helmet of Fate. Only it was different. The helmet that was once bright and golden was now dark and grey, almost as if it had been thrown into a fire. The ears of Batman's cowl burst through the top of the Helmet and the eyes that once glowed blue with magical energy now burned a deep red. The worst part of it all was that Kent couldn't sense the presence of Nabu, the spirit that resided within the helmet was silent. Batman looked the trapped man and said "I am Batman the Fateless." His voice seemed to reverberate as he spoke, almost as if more than one person was speaking at the same time. He walks over to the bound Kent, gathering magical energy onto his hand forming what could only be described as glowing bats that left his hand, some began to circle around him as he strode across the room while others flew to roost on the ceiling. Kent Nelson looked up at the dark figure with fear in his eyes as Batman the Fateless stood over him like a menacing shadow of doom. "This was the only way my friend, I'm sorry." Batman the Fateless coldly said with his multitude of voices. He turned away from the man on the floor and the bats dropped from the ceiling, landing on him to begin to feed. Kent Nelson's screams reverberated off the stones of the Tower.

After that Batman the Fateless worked his newfound magic as best he could and for a time was able to preserve his universe from destruction. Days turned to weeks which turned to months which turned to years. He held to universe together with his magic for decades. But it was beyond his knowledge to know that his world was always fated to fall into the oblivion of darkness. Batman the Fateless stood at the top of the smoking ruins that once was the Tower of Fate looking out to see the universe quickly fall into darkness, each star briefly shining with a defiant radiance before being permanently extinguished. All was quiet… except for a quiet laughter behind him. The Fateless turned to see a leather clad man casually sitting on some rubble, his suit leaving only his hands and smiling mouth visible. His skin was deathly pale, and his growing laughter was chillingly familiar. "Joker!? Wait… no...you're not Joker." The mysterious figure stood up with a laugh, "That's right Bruce, I'm you. Just a different you from a different world. There isn't much that slips by you is there? Even less now with your fancy new helmet eh? HAHAHAHA!" He practically skips over to the Fateless as he continues saying, "And I'm sure you know for certain this world is dying. You did an excellent job trying to bail out the water that's pouring in but the ship's going down fast! But there's was nothing you could have done to prevent that, this world was always fated to die just like mine." He points a finger at the Fateless saying, "But that's because our worlds are in the shadow of the bright worlds. We're the little trees in the shade of the bigger trees, desperately trying to get our share of sunlight but we end up withering and dying. Haha." He extends his hand for a shake saying, "But that's where we come in. There are others like you and me who want to take our spot in the sunlight, to live in the worlds we deserve. To show them the boogie men that haunt their dark nightmares have come for their due. Care to join us?" Batman the Fateless was quiet for a moment contemplating the offer that was set before him. Then he clasped the other man's hand in agreement.

 **AN: Hope you guys enjoyed, thanks for reading! More Nightmare Batmen to come!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

These are the stories from the Dark Multiverse that should never be…

Witness the rise of the Dark Knights…

Location: Earth -2

Batman began his assault on the main compound of the League of Assassins by simply kicking in the door. The wood simply crumpled under the heel of his boot while the unconscious bodies of black garbed assassins were strewn across the courtyard behind him. He strode into the dark chamber of the citadel, the air heavy with smoke, as he could feel the eyes of countless deadly assassins as they hid in the shadows, waiting for their chance to attack. He strode in with purpose and caught the wrist of an assassin as he leapt down from the rafters trying to catch Batman by surprise. He used the momentum of the assassin's leap to throw him to the ground, a savage twist of his arm resulted with a ear splitting crack and cry of pain from the unfortunate assassin. Two more assassins leapt down throwing shuriken as Batman, who simply sidestepped the projectiles and responded in kind by throwing a volley of batarangs at the assailants. Two batarangs sank into the flesh of one assassin's shoulders while the other assassin felt a new kind of pain, the batarang sinking into the socket of one of his eye, and screamed with uncontrollable pain. The other assassin pulled the batarangs from his shoulders and drew a blade, ready to make another attempt at Batman, only to be quickly dispatched with a flurry of brutal blows delivered by Batman's fists. More assassins leapt from the shadows, rushing at Batman. The belief that they could beat Batman with sheer strength of numbers was quickly proven wrong as Batman used the assassins against each other. An assassin who tried to stab at Batman with his sword found his arm locked in the Bat's and guided into one of his fellow assassins. Another assassin in the confusion was used as a human club as Batman threw him over his shoulder into two other assassins. After a few minutes of fighting no other assassins approached at Batman, who stood in a pile of assassins rendered unconscious or otherwise unable to fight due to bodily injury. "Ra's! Where are you Ra's?" Batman yelled into the darkness.

For a moment there was silence and then a slow clapping started. Torches were suddenly lit around the chamber, bringing the room to light. There at the head of the room comfortably sitting in a wooden chair was Ra's al Ghul. He appeared as he normally did, garbed in a green robe with leather armor underneath, his salt and pepper hair neatly trimmed. An amused smile was spread across his face as he continued clapping. Next to him stood his daughter, Talia. Batman looked at her, beautiful Talia, deadly Talia. Ra's stopped his clapping and spoke his voice reverberating off the walls,"To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit, Detective?" Batman strode forward getting closer to the Ra's and his throne, the assassins around the room drawing swords and other weapons ready to strike at Batman. Batman stopped in front of Ra's and Talia and said, "I challenge you Ra's, I challenge you for title of Head of the Demon." A collective gasp could be felt go through the room, Talia stepped forward, the surprise apparent on her face as she said,"My love, surely you can't be serious. Challenging my father to a duel would mean..." Ra's cut her off saying, "Challenging me to a duel, a duel for the title of Head of the Demon, would mean you would have to break your one rule. The duel wouldn't be over until one of us lies dead at the other's feet." Batman simply nodded to Ra's, his eyes grim knowing that he would have to cross the one line he swore never to cross if he were to win. Ra's nodded in reply, standing up and dropping his cloak to the ground. He stepped forward and drew his curved sword from its sheath on his hip, stopping a few paces away from Batman. He turned his head to his daughter and said, "Talia, lend the detective your sword would you?" Talia walked over to Batman and placed her sword in his hand, and drew him close to her for a kiss. "Be careful my beloved." She whispered to him before walking away to stand at the side of the room. Batman looked down at the sword he now held, it was a deadly work of art, its edge seemed eager to cut into the flesh of another. He reached up and undid his cape and then detached his utility belt, letting two of his most trusted pieces of equipment fall to the ground. This match would be decided by skill alone, it couldn't be done any other way. The two combatants stood across from each other, silently gauging the other. Suddenly Ra's leapt forward with a cry, bringing his sword down in a vicious overhead chop. Batman blocked the blow and responded by bringing the hilt of his sword up in a strike at Ra's face. Ra's took a step back to avoid the hit and swept at Batman's legs, sweeping his legs out from under him. Batman turned what was suppose to be a fall into a backwards roll, standing up with the sword close to his side ready to block any incoming strikes but found Ra's had vanished. Suddenly Batman was given a strike to the back of his head, Ra's using one of the beams overhead to gain the advantage of height over the Dark Knight. Batman blindly slashed with his sword, only managing to catch one of the columns supporting the roof. Ra's continued his assault while Batman was still stunned from the blow to his head, managing to stab his blade into the flesh of Batman's shoulder. Batman let out a cry of pain and launched a counter attack at Ra's, charging forward and grabbing the other man in a tackle. He carried him across the room against the room and threw him against another one of the support columns. He delivered a knee to Ra's face and followed with a swing of his blade at Ra's head, only to be blocked at the last moment. Ra's grit his teeth and planted his feet against the base of the column, using it to push back against Batman. He pushed forward moving the fight back into the center of the room and slashed again at Batman. Batman parried Ra's blade and landed a vicious blow to Ra's face leaving him dazed. Blood started to trickle down Ra's face, his nose broken from the punch, but that did not deter him. Ra's rushed forward, intending to plunge his sword into Batman's heart. Batman blocked to attack, using his own sword to slide inside Ra's guard and brought his sword up into Ra's heart. Ra's let out a slight gasp, his sword slipping from his hands. He leaned into Batman's arms for support as his strength quickly leaving his body, the blood pooling at their feet. "Detective." he gasped into Batman's ear, "I am proud of you…" With those final words life left Ra's al Ghul. Everyone gathered in the room was silent, completely dumbfounded by what had just happened. It was Talia that broke the silence saying, "The duel has been decided. Behold the new Head of the Demon." The assassins around the room sheathed their weapons and silently bowed with reverence to their new leader. Talia took Bruce by the hand and lead him through the compound, down a flight of stairs and deep into the mountain side until they reached a cave illuminated by a pool of green liquid, the Lazarus Pit. Ra's had lived for hundreds of years by soaking in the rejuvenating waters of the pit, gaining power and knowledge as the years passed him by. Now that power belonged to Bruce. He stepped into the pool and sank into its waters, allowing it to cover his entire body. At first there was nothing and then it felt as if his entire body was on fire. He could feel the wounds he had received in the duel healing, as well as old scars slowly vanishing as if they had never even been there. Old aches and pains faded away but the burning in his lungs only grew as he remained submerged in the pit. Suddenly Bruce surfaced, flinging water across the cave as he gasped for air, greedily sucking it into his lungs. He stood still for a moment looking down at his reflection in the water, his eyes were glowing a neon green that matched the waters of the Lazarus Pits, as well as the veins that ran through his arms. He clenched his fists and looked up at Talia who was still standing at the edge of the pit. Bruce felt stronger, faster, and a far deadlier threat he had ever been before. The Batman would never be the same.

Years passed. Bruce grew the League of Assassins into a silent, deadly force the world wasn't even aware of. Assassins were stationed in every government around the world, in both positions of power and obscurity. Bruce also expanded the League on other ways as well, merging Talia's many companies that she had previously ran for Ra's with Wayne Enterprises. The world didn't even realize that two people were now in control of almost half of the world's financial interests. Talia and Bruce even had a son they named Damian, who would undoubtedly grow into an excellent heir. As the new Head of the Demon Bruce thought it appropriate to change his Batsuit to reflect his new position. He had changed his cape from a simple black design to an intricate green cloak and hood that had a built in mask. To most it would look like a relic from the Ottoman Empire, but in actuality it was a perfect blend of past and present, a cape that was capable of delivering all the combat abilities and gliding properties his previous cape had delivered but with the added visual qualities of the League of Assassins. In addition to his utility belt he had added a sash of throwing knives strapped across his chest over what appeared to be hardened leather that was actually a bullet and blade resistant carbon fiber polymer weave. The legend of the Batman had changed into a much deadlier threat. The first time Talia had seen the new suit she had made the comment "You are no longer just Batman love. Now you are Batman the Demon, a shadow that your enemies shall whisper about in fear." Bruce couldn't help but smile at this. Month later Bruce was seated next to Talia in the hall where he had beaten Ra's when the doors of the compound blew open and smoke poured in. Assassins drew their weapons ready to strike at the unknown enemy. "Ra's! Where are you Ra's? Hahahahahaha!" Bruce was silent, the voice coming from the smoke was his but… different. Through the smoke strode in a man covered in leather, his eyes covered by a spiked metal bar that circled his head, pointed ears reached over the top of his head. His skin was deathly pale and his smile was wide and disturbing. In his hands were chains and at the end were three children with the same pale skin he had, each wearing a cape and domino mask. The three children pulled at the chains attempting to bite at anyone they could reach. The pale man pulled viciously on the chains saying, "Heel kiddies! We're here to play nice not to eat anyone just yet Hahaha." He stopped in front of Bruce and Talia and bowed "Greetings Bruce al Ghul, Mrs. al Ghul hahaha. Nice planet you've got here, too bad it's going to end soon." Bruce and Talia shared a look of confusion. "Oh you didn't get the memo?" the pale man said with a laugh. "That's ok I never got a memo about my world either,but that's why I wanted to tell you Bruce. After all you and I are the same so I knew you'd want to know about your impending doom. But there is a chance to escape, to make a better world. All you have to do is follow me." He said as a smile spread across his face, revealing to everyone his yellow teeth. He turned and started walking out of the doors, almost dragging the chained children with him. Before he left he looked over his shoulder and called, "Oh and bring your pajama wearing friends, we're going to need an army where we're going. HAAAHAHAHAHAHAAA."

 **AN: And there's the second of the Nightmare Batmen, hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think! And like I said before, there's more to come! Hahahahaha**


	3. Chapter 3

...

... You can hear me... I know you can... you are so far away. But I know you can hear me.

...

... I can see you, I can see all of you... You sitting there holding your phone in your hand... You sitting in front of your computer screen in the dark... I can see you all.

...And most importantly you Author...

My Knights are coming...

Let me leave message to you all in your worlds of light... There is only one truth...

... In the end... all roads lead back... to the dark.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hey everyone. So sorry about that previous chapter. I didn't write it and I honestly don't know how it got there. I've tried deleting it but every time I try Fanfic crashes on me. Weird right? But on a more important note thank you to everyone who's favorited and followed my story! I'm so honored I never would have thought people would actually like my story, you're all the best! Anyway without further ado here's the next Nightmare Batman! Hope you enjoy!**

Chapter Three

These are the stories from the Dark Multiverse that should never be…

Witness the rise of the Dark Knights…

Location: Earth -39

Bruce Wayne was walking down the alley between his parents, Thomas and Martha. He looked up at them and smiled, the night at the movies was an unexpected surprise his father had sprung on him and his mother earlier that evening. The three of them we walking along laughing amongst themselves when a man stepped out from the shadows. The Waynes stopped in their tracks, shocked to suddenly see someone in front of them. The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun, pointing it at the Waynes as he said "Give me your wallet." The man's gun gleamed in the light of the lamppost they stood under, Bruce's father slowly reached for his wallet as he calmly spoke to the man holding the gun, trying to calm him down. Bruce stood there trembling in fear as his mother held him close to her. The mugger grabbed the wallet from Thomas' hand and shoved it in his jacket pocket, never taking his aim away from him. The mugger's eyes moved over to Martha and her pearl necklace. "Lady jewelry, now!" He said as he moved his hand and aimed the gun at Bruce's mother. Suddenly without warning Thomas put himself between Martha and the gun. The mugger, perhaps from surprise squeezed the trigger.

BANG!

Thomas Wayne fell to the ground. Martha screamed when she say her husband hit the ground as the mugger reached for the pearl necklace around her neck. She put her hands against his shoulders trying to push him away, the gun somewhere between them as they struggled. She shoved against him, breaking her necklace as he fell back a step or two.

BANG!

Martha Wayne fell besides her husband as the pearls of her necklace rained down onto the ground. Bruce knelt besides his parents in shock, not believing what had just happened. The barrel of the gun was a few inches away from Bruce's face as the mugger stood over him for a moment, the light of the streetlamp left his face concealed in shadows. Then he quickly ran away down the dark alley taking one last look at Bruce over his shoulder. Bruce knelt there as the mugger made his escape, fading into the darkness of the night. Bruce looked down at his parents as they lied motionless before him, still not believing that his parents were dead. "H-help." Bruce cried weakly. Noone came. "Help! Somebody! Help!" He cried into the night. "Help! Help! HELP!"

"Help! Help!" Covers wrapped around him in a strangeling embrace as Bruce thrashed in his bed. The door to his room opened and Alfred ran in. "Master Bruce! It's alright I'm here!" Alfred said as he sat besides the young boy, wrapping his arms around him to calm him down. Bruce looked up at Alfred and said, "It was another nightmare Alfred. Another nightmare where that man got away!" Alfred tighten his arms around the boy, "It's alright master Bruce, it was just a nightmare. You're alright now."

"But he's still out there Alfred. The police don't even have any leads!" Bruce said.

Alfred sighed and placed his hand on Bruce's shoulders. "I know master Bruce. But these things take time. Detective Gordon assured me he'll find the culprit soon, he won't rest until he does." Bruce frowned, it wasn't that he didn't trust Detective Gordon, he was the one that found him in that alley. He just wanted to find the man who was responsible, and he wanted to find him soon. Every day that passed Bruce felt it was another day that the mugger would be able to fade into the shadows. Soon the police wouldn't even be looking for him anymore, having moved onto other cases. Alfred noticed the look on the young boys face and said, "I'll make you some breakfast master Bruce, perhaps that will cheer you up some." The butler rose from the bed and walked out of the room. Bruce got out of his bed and dressed for the day, the nightmare still hanging with him even after he was fully awake. He made his way to the kitchen where Alfred had prepared a platter of pancakes and a side of orange juice. Bruce ate the breakfast as Alfred cleaned the dishes and plates he had made the breakfast with, the dishes and utensils clinking slightly as he washed them. After he finished eating Bruce got up from the table and called to Alfred as he walked out the door, "I'm going for a walk Alfred." Bruce closed the door and walked out onto the grounds of Wayne manor.

It was a slightly cold and windy day but Bruce didn't mind as he strolled the wide grounds of the manor. A few sparse trees dotted the manor's massive lawn and off in the distance was his mother's greenhouse. Bruce was absent mindedly wandering across the lawn, not really having a particular destination, he was lost in thought over his nightmare and the man that haunted him in them. Suddenly, without warning, Bruce's foot slipped. Rocks slid and tumbled beneath his foot and Bruce lost his balance following the stones he had just been standing on down into a deep dark pit. He landed with a thud, all the air in his lungs being knocked out of him. Thankfully other than what would definitely result in deep bruising Bruce was alright. As he laid there in the beam of light shining in from the hole he had just fallen through Bruce began to hear something stirring. He sat up and tried his best to peer into the shadows as fear slowly began to take a hold of him. He saw countless eyes staring back at him that glowed in the dark, the eyes of bats. Without warning the countless bats sprang to life, dropping from the roof of the cave and spreading their wings in flight. Bruce cried out as he raised his arms to try and shield his face from the swarm of bats that was circling him like a living hurricane. The bats circled around Bruce and spiraled up through the hole above him and just as quickly as the living storm had started it was over. The final bat made one last lap around Bruce before flying through the hole. Bruce was now alone in the cave with only the sound of his heavy breathing to accompany him. That is until he heard a voice echoing through the darkness. "Brucebrucebruce." It was little more than a whisper but he had definitely heard his name from deeper in the cave, further in the darkness. "W-whos there!" he called back. Only silence answered him for a moment before he heard the voice again saying, "StepforwardBruceStepforwardBruceStepForwardBruce." Bruce took a step forward without thinking and was immediately plunged into complete darkness, the hole that he had fallen through vanishing without a trace. Bruce stood still, not knowing what had happened or what was going on. The only thing he knew for certain was that he was very afraid… and that he wasn't alone. Three massive sets of glowing eyes seemed to float in front of him and a deep rumbling surrounded him. A voice spoke from what seemed like the left most set of eyes and said, "Bruce Wayne, you have been chosen." The rightmost eyes continued to speak saying, "Chosen to be my champion and my means of freedom." Bruce shook his head "This can't be real, this has to be another one of my nightmares." The middle set of eyes narrowed and said, "This is no nightmare mortal. I have chosen you to free me from my prison and defeat my long hated enemy. Right now you are hidden inside the Rock of Eternity, the place where I am imprisoned and where my enemy resides" The three sets of eyes grew closer to each other until they combined to for a tongue of fire. "Take the flame Bruce Wayne. It is but a taste of my true power, you will need it to defeat my enemy the Wizard. He may seem old and weak but he is an ancient being of immense, godlike power." Bruce began to reach for the flame but stopped himself short. "Suppose I do help you? Why should I? What's in it for me?" he said. The three voices echoed out from the darkness around him saying, "I know what torments your dreams young one.I can give you what you truly desire. I can give you the man that killed your parents. All you need to do is break the Wizard's staff and free me." Bruce stood there for a moment. He thought about his nightmares, how that night in the alley haunted every night since it happened. He thought about the police and their attempts to find the killer. He thought about how helpless he felt as the gun was pointed at him while his parents fell to the ground at his feet. Bruce decided in that darkness he would never feel helpless like that again and took a hold of the flame. It spread across his body and for a moment it felt as if he would burn alive, and then the pain passed. Bruce felt stronger that he ever had before, he felt like he could crush rocks with his bare hands. He looked down and saw flames covered his body but did not burn him or his clothing. The voice spoke to him again, "This is all I can do until you defeat the wizard. My power will defend you against his magic for a time, make haste my champion." Bruce strode forward and the darkness melted away. Now he was in a large stone chamber, massive columns reached to the ceiling and massive stone throne occupied the head of the room. On it sat what appeared to be an ancient aboriginal man. His dark skin was wrinkled and creased with age and his wild hair was the color of storm clouds. In his hand he held a silver staff that ended in a flat lightning bolt. Most surprising of all he appeared to be… asleep. His chest rose and fell in a steady pace, his preaths could be heard echoing slightly through the massive chamber. Bruce crept closer to the throne as quietly as he could, seeing ornate statues between the columns out of the corner of his eyes as he approached the sleeping Wizard. Once he was in reach Bruce reached for the staff and began to slowly pull it from the Wizard's grasp. Until he couldn't pull it any further, Bruce looked down and saw the Wizard looking back at him. "SHAZAM!" A bolt of lightning stuck the wizard and blasted Bruce away onto the stone floor. The Wizard, now with a glowing lightning bolt emblazoned on his chest, was floating a few feet above the ground. "Child, you have been corrupted by the Three Faces of Evil. It saddens me but you must exist no more." With that the Wizard raised his hand and blasted Bruce with a lightning bolt. Bruce instinctively raised his hands and felt the bolt of electricity wash over him. The Wizard raised his eyebrows in surprise and unleashed another bolt of power at Bruce. Bruce was ready this time though and stretched out his hand as if he were catching a baseball. The bolt pooled in his outstretched hand and formed a glowing crackling ball of energy. Bruce grinned as he threw the sphere at the wizard, catching him in the shoulder. The Wizard fell to the ground, landing on his feet holding his staff in both his hands, ready to fight. Bruce raced forward, trying to get close enough to grab a hold of the staff. The Wizard swung his staff at Bruce who ducked under the swing. He came up and grabbed the staff trying to pull it from the Wizard. The two struggled against one another as they locked eyes with the other. "Boy stop this foolishness! You know not the forces you are trying to release! The Dragon is nothing but a force of evil!" The Wizard said. Bruce strained against the old man, without thinking Bruce held the staff in only one hand. He took his other flame covered fist and swung at the Wizard, landing a solid blow against the side of the Wizards face. The old man lost his grip on the staff as he flew across the room and landed against the stone throne. Bruce looked down at the silver staff in his hand before breaking it over his knee. "NO!" The Wizard cried out as the two smoldering halves of the staff clanged to the ground besides Bruce. Bruce suddenly felt the same presence behind him that he had felt back in the darkness. "Well done my champion. The Wizard is now powerless and I am free. My power is yours to use to its fullest." Bruce looked down at the Wizard, "So what do I do now?" he asked. The Three Faces of Evil spoke behind him saying, "Choose the form you wish to take and speak the word Mazahs, you shall then become what you envision. You will be stronger than you can possibly imagine, my champion in full." Bruce closed his eyes. He say himself taller and stronger than he was now, he say himself cloaked in darkness, most importantly he say a bat. "Mazahs!" A column of flame surrounded Bruce for a moment, when it vanished Bruce had changed. He was much taller than he had been before, and he was incredibly muscled, his body was covered in a dark form fitting robe with three red dragon heads stitched on the chest. On his shoulders was a cloak that seemed to be made from two massive bat wings and a hood made from the same material covered his face. His voice was deeper as he said "So you said this guy's basically a god right? So what I'm about to do is basically Deicide." The Three Faces of Evil chuckled as it said, "Yes, yes it is my champion. He is an ancient and broken god" Bruce turned away from the wizard and began walking down the chamber, he snapped his fingers and the entire room burst into flame. Bruce passed through the flames unharmed back into the darkness. This time however there was someone waiting for him. A man garbed in black leather with a spiked metal band wrapping around his head stood in the darkness, smiling. "Heya Brucie." He said through his yellow teeth. The Dragon spoke in reply from the darkness, "Who are you?" The man laughed and said, "Friends call me the Batman Who Laughs, but think of me as a recruiter." He pointed at Bruce and said, "You and I have a lot in common Brucie, more than you'd think." He reached into a pocket and pulled out a metal playing card with a joker face in printed on it. "Now I know you've got some business to handle back in Gotham." He said as he passed the card to Bruce who flipped it to find a long string of numbers scratched onto the back. "But like I said I'm looking for unique individuals, and I could really use someone like you. Once you're finished give me a call." The Batman Who Laughs turned and began striding into the darkness laughing as he said, "Hope to hear from you sooooooon, tata. Hahahaha." And like that he was gone, vanished without a trace. Bruce looked at the card one last time before continuing through the darkness. "So," Bruce said, "If I remember right you owe me a name." The Three Faces of Evil chuckled in the darkness, "Yes, yes I do champion."

Once he had returned to Wayne Manor Bruce had Alfred drive him into the city. Bruce had told him he wanted to look through some of the the shops in the Diamond District. It didn't take much to lose Alfred and once Bruce was on his own he made his way down the streets of Gotham City until he came to a broken down apartment building. He searched the names on the apartment buzzer until he found the one he was looking for. Bruce couldn't help but smile as his finger slowly inched closer to the buzzer with the name Joe Chill next to it.

 **AN: As always thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!**


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